Stephen King’s Bill Hodges Trilogy Review

Stephen King did it once again. A book that I, at first, wasn’t sold on, won me over. And then I read two more. Damn you, King. Damn you.

So, I work overnight shifts. Not bragging, it’s just a fact of life. To relax before bed at noon, or 1:00 p.m., I read. And when I finished my last venture into reading, which was A Man Called Ove (also a good book click this link check it out), I was at a crossroads. I needed something a bit more edgy, so I turned to one of my favorite authors, Stephen King. I literally went to his author page, and found a recent book. What peaked my interest was The Bill Hodges Trilogy. There will be no major spoilers in this… hopefully.

Mr. Mercedes

The first book in the Bill Hodges Trilogy

This book did not get me from the get go. However, it’s hard not to fall in love with the characters once you make it through the back stories. Detective Bill Hodges recently called it a career without solving one of his biggest cases. Then, the murderer contacts him, and pokes the bear. It’s twisted, it’s demented, and it’s downright heart-breaking at some points. However, this is captivating as you bob and weave through the moments that Detective Hodges grapples with himself, the police department he used to work for, and his love interest. You slowly develop deep appreciation for Hodges and his mission, almost as if it’s your personal mission. King does a great job of drawing you in only to crush your spirits, which I understand sounds like a bad selling point, but I promise the journey is with it. It’s an emotional roller coaster, and coming from a wrestling fan: the goal is always to garner some sort of reaction. Mr. Mercedesdoes all of that.

Finders Keepers

The second book in the Bill Hodges Trilogy

This book stands out because of how much depth it provides. It’s rather strange at first, because it’s a really loose connection to the main story. This book revolves around Morris Bellamy, a young man who simply wants his favorite book series to continue. So, he went directly the source: the author. However, that encounter ends with Bellamy imprisoned for decades. Once he gets out, it’s up to now officially retired Detective Hodges to solve a series of crimes Bellamy commits. Now, what King does really well in this book is slowly and methodically pulling it all together. You feel for young Peter Saubers, who simply gets caught up in a good book and the desire to help his family. Sometimes, you feel for Morris, and his passion for literature. And there’s still drama at the end that has you turning the pages quicker to see what happens next. I will admit, this does get slow at points. VERY slow. But the build-up to the end is well worth it, and the cliffhanger to end of Finders Keepers is tantalizing.

End of Watch

The third, and final book in the Bill Hodges Trilogy

And here we are at the end of the trilogy with End of Watch. This one is tough for all the right reasons. It also starts slow, as do the other two books, but it has to be slower because of how Brady Hartsfield debuts in this book. It’ll make sense once you read it. This one is more sci-fi thriller than the other two. We started with straight detective thriller. Went into historical psychological drama. And now we’re in sci-fi crime. However, I must admit, as I was shocked by the developments in this book, so were the characters. It all felt very real and shocking as I swiped through the pages. The ending to this one is simply fantastic. You’ll go from extreme highs to extreme lows literally page by page. And King of course puts a great ending on a series that I was second guessing from the beginning.

In all, this series is great but it takes time. It definitely takes time. It’s not dry by any means, each story seems to have a place, but it can be ridiculously slow. It’s like that uncle you only see at family reunions and can never seem to get to the actual punchline of the joke until it’s NEARLY too long to pay attention. Then the punchline comes and it’s actually a really funny joke. Yes, I have weird family reunions, and yes these books are weird, but the end result is a great series that I thoroughly enjoyed reading through.

Bill Hodges Trilogy Box Set

Brunner 1.0is a writer, audio and video editor, and social media coordinator for the Geekiverse. When he’s not watching wrestling, he’s watching wrestling.

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